September Saw Dropoff in Tracked Food Facility Projects

Following an August that was the most active month of the year, by far, September had a considerable decline.

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Following the most active month of the year by far, the number of food & beverage manufacturing facility projects had a sizeable decline in September, according to the latest data from industrial and commercial intelligence firm SalesLeads.

The group — which tracks investment project activity for facilities across numerous verticals, including food & beverage — said that it tracked 61 such food & bev. facility project announcements in September, covering plans for new facilities or upgrades to existing ones. That's well below the 86 projects tracked in August and trailed the 72 and 70 in July and June, respectively.

SalesLeads tracked an average of 72.7 projects per month during 2020.

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SalesLeads' September recap was broken down as follows:

  • 45 projects were for processing facilities (67 in August, 51 in July, 53 in June)
  • 19 were for distribution and industrial warehouse (24 in August, 28 in July, 23 in June)
  • 25were new construction projects (22 in August, 26 in July, 28 in June)
  • 16 were expansion projects (26 in August, 18 in July, 24 in June)
  • 22 projects entailed renovations and equipment upgrades (44 in August, 28 in July, 26 in June)
  • 5 projects were for a plant closure (5 in August, 0 in July, 1 in June)
  • California led all U.S. states and territories in the number of September food & bev. facility projects with six. Georgia was next with five, while Ontario, Washington, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota each had three apiece.

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During September, SalesLeads identified three new food & beverage facility construction projects with an estimated value of at least $100 million — down four in August. The largest tracked food & beverage September project announcement was from Platinum Crush, which plans to invest $350 million to build a processing facility in Alta, IA. They are currently seeking approval for the project, for which construction is expected to start in late 2021 and finish in early 2024.

The other largest food & beverage facility construction projects SalesLeads identified in September included:

  • Poultry processing company Koch Foods, which plans to invest $220 million on a 400,000-square-foot expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing facility in Fairfield, OH. Completion is set for late 2022.
  • Meat processing firm Saline River Farms, which plans to spend $87 million to build an 83,000-square-foot facility in Creal Springs, IL.
  • Agricultural cooperative Cenex Harvest States (CHS Inc.), which plans to invest $60 million for the renovation and equipment upgrades on their processing facility in Mankato, MN.
  • Beverage company Constellation Brands, which plans to invest $50 million for the renovation and equipment upgrades on a processing, warehouse and office complex in Rochester, NY.
  • Snacks maker Shearer's Foods, which plans to invest $28 million for the expansion and equipment upgrades on their processing facility in Waterford, PA.
  • Produce company Bee Sweet Citrus, which plans to expand their processing facility in Fowler, CA by 225,000-square-feet. 
  • Nutritional supplement maker Blubonnet Nutrition, which plans to invest $18 million to build a processing facility in Sugar Land, TX.
  • Diary products maker Darifair Foods, which plans to spend $15 million to build an office, laboratory and storage facility in Jacksonville, FL.
  • Food processing firm Performance Food Group, which plans to invest $12 million to expand their processing facility in Rice, MN.
  • Flour mill Chelsea Milling Company, which plans to build a 120,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in Chelsea, MI.
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